This study examined psychological predictors of academic achievement for students enrolled in self-paced math courses. At the beginning of the fall 1998 semester, 250 students who were enrolled in developmental math courses at Missouri Western State College completed a questionnaire packet with standardized measures of procrastination, optimism, self-esteem, anxiety, locus of control, need for achievement, and fear of success. At the end of the term, academic performance and time of unit completion in the self-paced courses were correlated with the psychological factors. Regression analysis indicated those students with high levels of achievement motivation, low math anxiety, and low procrastination scores were most likely to complete the class with a passing grade.

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